Warthog Scorn

Hell hath no fury like a mother warthog scorned

There are always two factors one realises as a ranger. Firstly that nature doesn’t follow a script and secondly that you see some tremendous things if you are in the right place at the right time.
When these two factors combine you generally come out with a result that will stay with you for a lifetime. It may be a long scenario such as lion hunting and killing a buffalo or it may be a very brief sighting, such as spotting a rare bird before it
flies off. Either way, these moments are what we live for as rangers. The following incident was a brief experience but a highly captivating one none the less.

Water monitor baby

0 n yet another great morning drive on Welgevonden, I got to see some interesting animals. These are the small things that you hardly ever get to see. One of them was a Water Monitor. These guys are quite rare to see, especially from such a short distance.

This one was still small, but this Lizard will grow up to 2.5 meters and become a fearless carnivore. They will eat almost any meat they can find: from insects, small frogs to buried eggs which they will dig out using their long claws. They have got spectacular patterns and colours and as far as reptiles go, quite beautiful.

Some of my favourites

Everyone has their favourite food, music and animals. But I have so many, I can’t keep track. Every day at work, I get to enjoy my favourite animals in action, and I so love to see my guests enjoy them just as much.

Sightings during a 6 hours game drive in Welgevonden

On yet another great 6 hour game drive the other day, the excitement just kept coming. It started with a family of Black backed Jackal playing in the tall grass. We first noticed the parents, looking for something to eat. Only a couple of minutes later, did we notice the babies playing in the grass.

Interesting skies

Growing up in the City of Johannesburg, I started getting fascinated by clouds and thunderstorms at a very young age. Johannesburg is quite popular for its thunderstorms, and so is the Waterberg! Lately the skies over Kololo, has been incredible. Big and unusually shaped clouds, the most colourful sunsets, and the strongest winds I have ever seen in this area. The other night, I witnessed an amazing lighting storm. Light flashes that did not stop for hours, it surely was a sight to remember. I love taking pictures of the clouds and these two are just some of my favourites.

Ground Agama

The Ground Agama (Agama aculeata) is one of the smallest reptiles to be found at Kololo, and when you are lucky enough to see one; it usually runs off very quickly into the cover of bushes. I was so amazed at this little poser one day, as he sat on this small rock, in the middle of the road like he was waiting for me to take his picture.

When photos just can't tell the story

Being on safari in Africa has so many special moments and the opportunity to make memories that can last for ever. And normally when writing a ranger diary I try to concentrate on one special moment, the sort of thing that can be captured on a camera or at least some of it as a picture. But you cannot capture the sound and everything outside the scope of the lens.

And it is for that reason that I’m not attaching a picture to this ranger diary, and instead just sharing a story about an experience I had on game drive, as this cannot be captured in a moment on the perfect photo.

Swimming lessons

The last couple of days, it has been very hot, and the elephants could not stay out of the water. We were able to watch them swim every day, and watching 50 elephants play in the water, is a fantastic sighting. Elephants love water and love swimming! The young adults jumped in first and immediately started with a game of wrestling and tug of war. The babies were a bit hesitant, and this matriarch needed to encourage them a bit for their daily swimming lesson.

Birdlife

O ne thing I love about doing game drives in Kololo and Welgevonden, is our fantastic bird life. Bird lovers can enjoy a big variety of shapes, colours and calls. Just by walking around the bush villas, you can see more than 20 different species. Kingfishers, Weavers, bee-eaters and Waxbills are amongst those. Entering Welgevonden a variety of bigger birds, like eagles and Vultures can also be seen, including our National bird, The Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus).

Let's talk about tracks

Whats happening on Kololo?

From the Giraffe surprising everyone with a visit at the reception, to the impalas sleeping outside the chalets. Green everywhere you look, a little rain spraying and bringing the birds out to play! Its incredible to be in the bush!! With every day comes a new experience.

Lets talk about Tracking

Tracking is firstly one of my favorites. When you see and animal spoor, you can almost make up a story or an imagination of what that animal was doing at the time. Sometimes not even seeing the animal, but you know that it was there which is also exciting.

Most of the time you will find spoor in the road because the animals use the road as a “main path”.

When identifying spoor you can tell what animal it is by firstly looking at the structure (It is important to carry a spoor card/guide with you). It is also important to make sure the sun is in front of you…this will allow you to see a better shadow on the spoor.

A change in the weather

The Waterberg region of Southern Africa is a hub for game reserves, hunting farms and game ranches. With an average annual rainfall of 500 to 700 millimetres, the area is lush and green in summer. Kololo’s little streams flow like rivers and even an occasional small waterfalls may be seen in Welgevonden during these times.

Great sighting

Seeing the big 5 is always fantastic, but there are so many other things out there to enjoy and appreciate. The landscape, general game, birds, plant life, etc. One day on drive, with the exception of one Elephant bull, I did not get to view, any of the big 5. However, I had the most amazing 3 hours out there. All sorts of animals came out. Baby Red Hartebeest, big herds of Eland, even a beautiful Gemsbok, made it a very special afternoon.

What's happening in the North

So we’re in December and in the middle of our busiest time again! Welgevonden game reserve is pumping with action both in the South and up in the North.

Every so often we travel further up to the North to give the guests some diversity of the beautiful mountainous landscape and the neighbourhood of Lion prides and others from the Big5, and here are some photos of the last drive I did there.

Elephant parade

I just love to watch Elephants socialize and play, and with a big herd of 40 individuals, it makes a fantastic sighting. On approaching this herd one early morning, I could see that they had a number of youngsters of different ages. One should always be careful of a herd with calves, as herd members might be very overprotective of the little ones, but this herd could not be more relaxed. These two babies walked right past my vehicle without any sign of aggression from their mothers. Baby elephants are extremely playful and may be very curious. It does happen on occasion, where a baby approaches the car to close, and suddenly runs back to its mother where she then becomes a bit unsure about your presence there. But on this day, the cows allowed the youngsters to introduce themselves to us.

The Secretary Bird

The Secretary Bird is a large black and white bird with long legs and loose projecting feathers from behind the head. The Secretary bird is usually found in pairs walking in the grassland, bushveld or savanna at all altitudes. They are also known to fly at great heights.